The Series of Mysterious Deaths
Every year on the Watanagashi festival, a strange pattern of deaths occur without fail. The pattern is that one person dies while the other is "demoned Away" (literal translation of the phrase 'onikakushi') to calm Oyashiro-sama's anger. This is widely thought in Hinamizawa as "Oyashiro-sama's Curse", due to the fact that the victims are either directly or indirectly connected to those who supported the Hinamizawa Dam Project. In most scenarios, the main characters have no idea who is behind the murders, however the entire village or someone in the village is always suspected to be behind it, especially the Sonozaki family. The motive behind the killings is also never entirely clear, except revenge against enemies of Hinamizawa. As the years go by, however, the connections to the dam project become less clear. The deaths are one of the main triggers of anxiety for the protagonist in the question arcs taking place in June of the 58th year of Shouwa (1983). The main questions pertaining to the deaths are: is it a curse, the work of people, or just coincidence? Shouwa 54 (1979) The Construction Site Lynching Case *'Place of Event':' Dam Construction Site' '' '' *'Victim of Death: Construction Manager ' *'Victim of Disappearance: Dismemberment Leader' One year after the Dam Project was stopped on the night of the Watanagashi, a fight appearently broke out among the dam construction workers. According to news articles, the murderers had no intention to kill the victim at first. It was believed that the victim, later discovered to be the dam construction manager, attacked the workers while in an extreme drunken frenzy. Using various axes and shovels, the workers tried to defend themselves by fighting back, beating him until he was unrecognizable. The workers, who really had no intention of killing the manager, became terrified of being labeled as murderers, and some wanted to turn themselves over to the police. However, the leader of the group came up with the idea to cut up the body into six pieces (one for each assailant to hide): the head, the torso, right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg. This was done because the leader didn't want any of the other five to report to the police. Despite the leader's effort, his plan didn't work for too long, as one of the assailants went to the clinic to get treatment for the wounds he got in the fight that very same night, and there he confessed his crime. The rest of the group turned themselves in, but the leader still remained at large to the villagers, and the right arm was never found by the police. It is later revealed that both the arm and the leader were found by the Yamainu, and the leader subsequently became Takano's first live specimen in researching the Hinamizawa Syndrome. To the people of Hinamizawa, this event was considered part of "Oyashiro-sama's Curse", as well as the start of the mysterious chain of deaths. Shouwa 55 (1980) The Incident At Shirakawa Park *'Place of Event: Shirakawa Park ' *'Victim of Death: Hōjō Satoko's Stepfather' *'Victim of Disappearance: Hōjō Satoko's Mother' One year after the lynch murder, the father of the Hōjō family who was the leader of the dam support group and his wife fell from a high cliff viewing platform and down into a strong river, where they were believed to have been swept away to their deaths. They wanted to go on vacation during the Watanagashi festival, since the rest of the villagers disliked the Hōjō family so much it would be awkward to join the festival. It is believed that their fall was due to them leaning on an old guard rail. The husband's body was later found, however no one could find the wife. Their daughter Satoko was with them at the scene. It is later revealed that Satoko herself was the one who pushed her parents through the railings while under an L5 state. Shouwa 56 (1981) The Strange Deaths of Priest and Wife *'Place of Event: Hinamizawa Village' *'Victim of Death: Furude Rika's Father' *'Victim of Disappearance: Furude Rika's Mother' 'On the third year of "Oyashiro-sama's Curse", the night of the Watanagashi, the head priest of the Furude Shrine died of an unknown illness. Some thought it was due to the heavy amount of stress that induced a sudden heart attack. His wife believed his death was due to the curse, and it was believed that she drowned herself in Onigafuchi Swamp to appease Oyashiro-sama's anger. A handwritten suicide note was found by her slippers by the river, but her body was never found. Some believe they were cursed, because the priest was relatively passive during the dam conflict and did not actively voice against the government. The Furude family was also sympathizers with the Hōjō family, who were ostracized by the Sonozakis for their support of the dam. Shouwa 57 (1982) The Housewife Bludgeoning Case *'Place of Event: Roadside going to Okinomiya ' *'Victim of Death: Hōjō Tamae ' *'Victim of Disappearance: (believed by some) Hōjō Satoshi ''' 'The next year on the Watanagashi, Hōjō Tamae was beaten to death by a baseball bat. Her skull was caved in so bad to the point where she was unrecognizable. The police suspected Hōjō Satoshi, since Tamae would regularly abuse him and Satoko. However, a police station in a neighboring prefecture reported to have caught the culprit; a drug addict who wanted to recreate the curse himself. The culprit later killed himself by choking on a spoon. Satoshi vanished days later on Satoko's birthday. The investigative report showed that he withdrew all of his savings, supposedly going to run away. There was a report that someone who looked like Satoshi was boarding a train at Nagoya Station. Hōjō Teppei, who was Tamae's husband, started to fear for his life. He fled to Okinomiya to live with his mistress. Shouwa 58 (1983) Onikakushi-hen *'Place of Event: The dark road between Hinamizawa and Okinomiya''' *'Victim of Death: Tomitake Jirou' *'Victim of Disapperance: Takano Miyo' In Onikakushi-hen the 5th year's curse is the same as the previous cases. One found dead and one disappeared. In this year Tomitake Jirou scratched out his own throat and Takano Miyo went missing on the night of the Watanagashi festival (this is the only world where the "rule" dies, one disappears actually happens). Watanagashi-hen, Himatsubushi-hen, Meakashi-hen, Tsumihoroboshi-hen *'Place of Event: The dark road between Hinamizawa and Okinomiya, Gifu Mountains' *'Victim of Death: Tomitake Jirou, Takano Miyo' *'Victim of Disapperance:' None In Watanagashi-hen, Himatsubushi-hen, Meakashi-hen and in Tsumihoroboshi-hen the incident is different from the previous cases. Takano Miyo doesn't disappear, instead, she's found burned to death in an oil drum in the Gifu mountains. In these worlds nobody disappears. ''Tatarigoroshi-hen *'Place of Event: The dark road between Hinamizawa and Okinomiya, Gifu Mountains''' *'Victim of Death: Tomitake Jirou, Takano Miyo' *'Victim of Disapperance:' Hōjō Teppei, Ōishi Kuraudo, Kumagai Katsuya, In Tatarigoroshi-hen Tomitake Jirou scratches out his own throat and Takano Miyo found burned to death, just like in Watanagashi-hen. However, thanks to Keiichi, this year's curse becomes completely different. Keiichi murders Satoko's uncle, Hōjō Teppei on the night of the festival and buries his corpse in the forest. However Teppei's corpse disappears so practically he becomes an "oniakushi". At the end of Tatarigoroshi-hen Ōishi Kuraudo and his subordinate, Kumagai Katsuya also disappears. Category:Events